<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Family or Country? by Nicnag</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27455953">Family or Country?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicnag/pseuds/Nicnag'>Nicnag</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEAL Team (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:00:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>917</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27455953</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicnag/pseuds/Nicnag</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Had Ray died the day his parachute malfunctioned, it wouldn’t have been by his choice. Dying today, though, would be.</p><p>Ray could see the moment Clay realized what he was going to do. The younger man’s eyes widened and he moved his lips to yell “No” but Ray was already committed.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Family or Country?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I’ve wanted to explore Ray’s character more now that he’s changing directions to be a Warrant Officer as well as his inner conflict of making Jameelah worry he could die. I also wanted to include Clay since the two share a bond as being the snipers on the team and the different risks they may take on overwatch to protect their teammates. </p><p>If you want to know whether Ray dies or not in this story, the Note section at the end contains the spoiler so you can decide for yourself if you want to read if you are someone who doesn’t want to risk reading a story that could possibly contain a major characters death.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Had Ray died the day his parachute malfunctioned, it wouldn’t have been by his choice. Dying today, though, would be.</p><p>Ray could see the moment Clay realized what he was going to do. The younger man’s eyes widened and he moved his lips to yell “No” but Ray was already committed.<br/>***<br/>Ray was the one who pushed hard for Clay to join Bravo. He also felt it had been his responsibility to make sure Clay stayed alive til the team realized the younger man was the missing piece Bravo needed to be the best SEAL team the Navy ever had. Then, Ray felt responsible for keeping Clay alive after the “kid” became Sonny’s best friend, something no one ever saw coming, not even Sonny and Clay. Ray knew losing Bravo 6 would destroy Bravo 3.</p><p>Ray had watched over Clay when he fell into the basement early on in his career with Bravo. Like Jason said, any other operator may not have been able to keep a clear head and make the decisions that would best ensure Clay was safe til they could get to him. When Clay got pinned down by two enemy snipers, Ray knew the only way to get to keep Clay safe was to get on the roof of the building they were holed up in. That day, Ray walked away with just a graze and Clay telling him he understood the risk the older man had taken for him. Even though Clay was no longer a ‘rookie,’ Ray continued to watch over him feeling like Clay’s protector despite the fact that the younger man was a highly trained and capable Tier One Operator like the rest of them.</p><p>This mission, Clay and Ray had both been sent high to watch over the team, each on different roofs. Both could see enemy approaching their teammates, but neither was in a position to help. Clay would be if he could move to the neighboring building. As Clay tried to climb up to what would be his new perch, he started taking fire. Ray could take out the two militants targeting his teammate if he descended from his building, but he’d put himself in view of the other tangoes who were creeping up on the rest of the team. He could get both groups attention which would allow Clay to go high and protect Sonny, Jason, Trent, Brock and Cerb, but the cost would most likely be his death. It all depended on how accurate the militants were and how fast Clay could get to the top of the building.</p><p>Ray knew if he didn’t survive, he would cause Clay guilt over the fact that he sacrificed himself. He knew Clay would react just like he did when Adam died. He hoped one of his teammates would be there to give Clay the same speech he had given when Clay was questioning why Adam chose to do something they were taught not to do. He knew Clay would be angry that Ray didn’t let him die, the teammate who had no family, no wife, no kids whose lives would be destroyed by his death. He wished he could tell Clay his decision was about the future of the country Bravo was fighting to protect. Clay was young with his whole career ahead of him. No matter what direction Clay took, he would make an impact. That was a bond the two men had shared. Each had been considering changing the trajectory of their lives. Clay was considering it because he wanted to make changes across the entire Navy. Ray was considering it so he could stay on Bravo with Jason. Both felt their decisions would be better for the Navy and their team.</p><p>As Ray descended the ladder from his perch, he prayed and his life flashed before him just like it had right before Bravo found him after his parachute failed. This time, he also saw everything he knew he would miss. He saw Jameelah’s wedding day, RJ’s high school graduation, Naima holding their grandbabies. He again thought how pissed Naima would be like he did as he ran out of ammo and time to cross the border after his equipment malfunctioned.</p><p>The team wouldn’t be able to tell her what happened, other than he gave his life for his brothers and his country. He knew Jason would be the one to carry his lifeless body back to the helo. He knew Trent would still try to save him even though he knew he was gone. He knew Brock would be clutching Cerb, trying to calm their hair missile as he lay whining beside Ray. He knew Sonny would beat the floor of their transportation yelling out in anger. He knew Clay would be completely numb and silent as they flew back to base, not taking his eyes off the flag draped across his body. </p><p>He knew the only way to save his team and spare them the pain of his death was to be the fastest and most accurate he had ever been. All his training came down to this moment. However, he knew his death would not be in vain. His brothers wouldn’t let it be.</p><p>He stepped off the last rung of the ladder, turning to face Bravo 6’s direction. Ray could see the moment Clay realized what he was going to do. The younger man’s eyes widened and he moved his lips to yell “No” but Ray was already committed……………</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Spoiler—the story finishes without knowing for sure what the outcome will be, even though death is more likely than not. It’s more about whats going through Ray’s head as he tries to save Clay, who can then save their team.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>